Cinnamon sugar bannock.

Although the word ‘bannock’ was brought to North America by Scottish settlers, many versions of this flat bread may have been part of the First Nations diet since pre-contact times. Back then made with ground roots, dried fruits and natural sweeteners, it can be served as a starch component of any meal, as a snack, or even as dessert. In modern First Nations gatherings, at longhouses and at pow wows, they will almost always be on the menu.

My Native Canadian friends tell me the best way to make bannock is by folding the dough around a stick and cooking it near an open fire. Unfortunately, open fires are frowned upon in my apartment building so for now I’ll stick with shallow fried bannock. These airy pockets of fried dough are delicious. The recipe below makes six donut-sized fried bannock, but it is easily multiplied for larger batches.

Ingredients

• 1 cup all- purpose flour

• 1/2 tbsp baking powder

• 1 tsp salt

• 1/2 cup water

• 1 tsp honey

Method

1. Combine all the dry ingredients in a bowl and stir with a fork. Make a well in the middle and add the liquids. Stir the dough with a fork until just mixed. Dump the dough out on a clean, floured surface and carefully knead only a couple of times, just to make sure there are no more loose bits. Don’t overwork the dough.

2. Heat a good layer of vegetable oil (I used canola, about 4cm up the sides) in a skillet or other heavy bottomed pan. Drop a little bit of the dough in to test the temperature. If it floats and sizzles softly, it’s warm enough.

3. Portion the dough into six and use the tips of your fingers to gently press them into disks of about a centimetre thick.

4. Fry your bannock by gently lowering them into the oil. Flip them over once and cook until golden brown, about one minute.

5. Serve warm. Try out different toppings! We devoured ours with jam and cinnamon sugar.